Kingdom Valentine Hearts
by Catgirl AnimeFreak
Summary: When a gamer girl named Christie gets sucked into KH, she ends up playing Cupid to get Sora and Kairi together. What happens when playing Cupid means playing girlfriend?
1. Chapter 1

_I don't own Kingdom Hearts. KH belongs to Squaresoft and Disney. I own Christie, though! No stealie Christie. Oh, this is also based before the whole Heartless deal._

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Christie yawned and looked at her clock. 2:31AM. She smiled and continued playing Kingdom Hearts. She loved the summer vacation. She's a nighthawk, and it's so hard to stay awake in classes when you only had three hours' sleep.

She saved and turned off the PS2. She uprighted herself so she was sitting on her bed instead of laying and yawned again. She was about to

stand when she heard a soft buzzing sound.

_What's that?_ The blonde thought, looking around. _It's getting louder..._

She began pressing her ear against the walls. On her way over to the wall by her TV, she stopped. _It's right here..._

Christie's head whipped this way and that, until, finally, she looked down. _The PS2!_

She kneeled down and studied the Playstation. It was off, but the CD was still spinning, it seemed, at about ten times the usual speed. Christie took a heavy dictionary from under her bed and put it in front of her face and covered her heart with the rest of her arm. Peeking fron behind the large book, she braced herself and pressed the eject button. It open dispite the fact there was no power, and Christie lowered the dictionary and stared in awe. The CD _was_ spinning uber fast, and still was, even with the compartment open.

"What's up, bud?" She murmured. Gently, she reached out and touched the CD. Immediatly, the disk began spinning faster... faster... faster...

Christie pulled her hand away and fell on her butt and stared. The colours were blending and was now a dark purple, close to black. She gasped at a light forming in the center. It was the size of a marble and was growing. It stopped when it was the size of a baseball.

Then it exploded. I wild fury of colours enveloped around Christie. She tried to pull away, but they sucked her in...

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"Ugh..." Christie moaned. She opened her eyes and stood. Looking around, she saw she was in a bedroom, and, judging by the posters of girls, it was a boy's bedroom. She went to an open window and saw nothing but a beach, the ocean and an oddly familiar island far off. "Wow..." she whispered, smiling. Then she noticed the two people, a boy and a girl, talking on the beach. "Th-that's..." she squeaked out, but she couldn't finish the sentence. Instead, she listened in.

"Kairi, there's something I wanna tell you..." the boy started.

Kairi, the girl, turned and smiled. "What is it, Sora?"

"Uhm," Sora rubbed his arm nervously and blushed, "...I like you, Kairi..."

"I like you too, Sora."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you're a great friend. It's tough not to like you!"

_Geez, she's dense,_ Christie thought, nuzzling her chin in the palm of her hand.

"Oh," Sora said, looking a bit dissappointed, "okay."

"Is that all?" Kairi said, expectantly.

"Yeah, that's all. Uhm... I'm going home." With that, Sora spun on his heels and left. Christie caught a glimpse of his face. He looked about ready to cry.

"Okay... bye," Kairi muttered. Then she, too, left.

Christie looked at them. _Poor Sor- OHMIGOSH! _Christie spun around and looked at her room. _Sora said he's going home...**and this is his home!**_

Christie looked for a way out other than the window (it was a long drop), but quickly changed her plans and sat on Sora's bed. _I'm gonna play cupid, _she thought, grinning, _and I'm gonna help Sora get Kairi!_

She crossed her arms and legs and waited for Sora to open his door. She only had to wait about two minutes. Sora opened the door, still looking sad. He closed the door and, finally, looked up.

"Ah!" He cried, jumping.

"Oh, shush," Christie said, smirking. "I saw you and Kairi on the beach. Man, that girl's a bit dense, ain't she?"

"Hey, don't talk mean about my friend. What do you want, anyway?"

Christie shrugged. "Dunno what I'm supposed to be doing here. I'm assuming I came from another dimension-"

"Another _what_?"

"Di-men-sion. Anyway, I was about ready to jump out the window once I figured out this was your house, then I thought 'Nah, I think I'll help Sora with Kairi!' So... here I am- Cupid Christie, ready to help you and your love tangles."

Sora smirked and jumped over to his bed. He put his hands on the bed and leaned forward, smirking. "Will you _really_ help?" He asked.

"Erm... yeah. Just said that."

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_I wonder what's up with Sora?_ Kairi thought, walking along the beach. _Why do I get the feeling I misread something... I'm going to go to Sora and find out what he meant- that is, if he meant anything at all_.

Kairi walked up to her friend's house. She opened the door and trodded up the stairs. She raised her hand to knock, but shook her head. _He's my friend. He won't mind if just go in._

Kairi put her hand on the doorknob, and turned...

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"So... how're you gonna help me?" Sora asked, leaning more forward, nearly touching his nose to Christie's.

_Geez these anime kids are straight-forward,_ Christie thought, trying to pull away. "Dunno yet," she mumbled.

The door swung open before either kid could react- or before Sora could move. Christie stared at the readhaired girl standing in the doorway.

"Kairi!" Sora exclaimed. He stood up, but as soon as he did, Kairi ran off.

"Kairi, wait!" Sora yelled after her. But she was already gone.

"Sora...did you see her face?" Christie asked standing up. He didn't reply. "She was jealous..." Christie continued. Silence. "Get a girl to pose as your girlfriend and then Kairi'll want to be your girlfriend."

"But... there aren't any other girls my age on the Destiny Islands."

"Oh... well... do you only swing one way?" Christie asked, her mind filling with images of Sora and Riku.

"Uhm, ew. Hey..." Sora's face brightened up, "why don't _you_ pose as my girlfriend!"

"Me! Well... uhh..."

Sora's eyes widened and he pushed his hands together. "Puh-_leez_?"

Christie's eyebrow twitched. "Fine..." she sighed.

"Yay!" Sora punched the air. "I got a girlfriend! I got a girlfriend!" He sang.

"Hold the phone!" Christie started. "I'm not _really_ your girlfriend! I'm just helping you get Kairi!"

"Right!" Sora laughed.

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_Well, there's chapter one. I hope you enjoyed it! Hopefully, chaptertwo will be up soon. I'm probably gonna make a manga based on this fic... hm..._


	2. Chapter 2

_**I don't own Kingdom Hearts. It belongs to Squaresoft and Disney. Christie belongs to me. And another thing- sorta messed up the title of this fic. It's actually called "Kingdom (Valentine) Hearts". Why can't you have brackets in the titles...?**_

_**Before we start, I'd like to say a few things to the people who reviewed the first chapter;**_

**Sorafanluver:** **_Poor Sora, indeed! lol I'm glad you found it funny_**

**Lady Sonora the Black-Rose: _You have another person who finds Love Amongst the Coconuts funny! Poor, poor Riku! XD_**

**Gozaru no da:_ Whoareyouhowd'youknowmyname? I chose the name "Christie" because it seems like a name they wouldn't have heard before, and I just wanted to be in my fic! Hehe! XD_**

**_Okay, so this chapter is going out to _Sorafanluver_ because she was the first to review! Hope y'all like it!_**

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_The heck! Why'd I run away? So what if Sora has a girlfriend that he never told me about!_

Kairi trudged down the beach, ignoring the frequent drip-drip of rain on her shoulders and head.

_I just thought... I don't know what I thought!_

Her thoughts were interrupted when she bumped into someone.

"Kairi?"

She looked up and saw familiar silver hair and soft face. "Hi, Riku," she said, trying to sound cheerful.

The boy was holding a large leaf over his head. "Hey, it's raining. Aren't you cold?"

Kairi shook her head, but shivered anyway.

Riku smiled and put the leaf over Kairi's head and his arm around her shoulder. "Something's troubling you... wanna talk?"

Kairi shook her head again and blanketed herself in the warmth of her friend. She just needed to think.

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"Okay! What's step one?" Sora asked Christie.

"I dunno... we go out and act all lovebird-ish," the blonde replied, shrugging.

"Oh...kay? Uhm... do you have to wear that?" Sora pointed at Christie's clothes.

Christie looked down. She didn't find anything wrong with her baggy 'Megatokyo' t-shirt and men's Old Navy white shorts. "What... you expect me to go naked?"

Sora blushed. "N-no! It's just... your clothes are pretty... other-worldly."

"Gee, I wonder why," Christie said sarcastically. "Well, if you want me to buy some new clothes, you're gonna have to pay, 'cuz I don't have _any_ money on me."

"Don't worry, I have some," he said, smirking. He grabbed Christie's wrist and dragged her downstairs. He grabbed a large umbrella and stepped outside. Christie followed him and he closed the door and opened the umbrella.

"Wow... it's so nice here when it rains," Christie commented. They walked down the steps and began following Sora up a path.

"Yeah! You should see it when it's summer, though," Sora added, smirking with pride for his home.

"Summer? What do you mean? It's not summer?"

"No, it's February. February 7th."

They entered a small town. Immediatly, Christie could feel eyes staring at her. One of her many phobias was opthalmophia, so this raised her anxiety. Out of instinct, she tried to hide herself behind Sora.

"Hey, it's alright," Sora reassured, reading Christie's face, "it's just because you're new. You should have seen them when Kairi came!"

Christie nodded slightly and followed her "boyfriend" into a clothing shop. Other than the strange clothing, it looked pretty normal. There were posters of upcoming sales, racks with clothing hanging on them, jewlery and accesories, and a clerk behind a counter. The only thing it was missing was a cash register.

"Alright, go on. Choose what you want to wear." Sora encouraged, grinning.

"Uhm... what's my price limit?"

"Don't worry about that! Just go!"

They spent nearly an hour in the store. When they were finished, Christie had a brand new outfit, consisting of: a skin-tight black t-shirt that went half-way up her neck covered by a baggy white t-shirt (both of which only went down to the bottom of her ribs), baggy low-rise black and blue jeans with mesh over the knees, sneakers that looked like Sora's (except blue instead of yellow), leather fingerless short gloves, and- to top it off- a white and blue bandana.

"Cool!" Sora said, looking at Christie's new outfit.

"Not overboard?"

Sora shook his head and smirked. "No, not at all!"

Christie changed back and they went up to the clerk. "Offer," the woman said lazily.

"50," Sora replied.

"60."

"55."

"58."

"Deal." Sora put some coins on the counter. Each of the gold and silver coins had the symbol a sand dollar has.

The clerk looked at Christie in her Earth clothes. "If you want, you can change here," she offered.

Christie blushed and thanked her, rushing back into the changing rooms. She came back out two minutes later, holding her old clothes. The clerk help open a fabric bag and Christie dumped the clothes in it and took it, thanking the woman again.

"Okay, so now what?" Sora asked outside the store.

"Uhm... hang-out? I don't know... what do couples do around here?" Christie shrugged, ignoring a nearby wolf-whistle.

Sora looked up at the sky. The rain had stopped and the sun was shining through the clouds. He also shrugged closing his umbrella.

Christie folded her arms and looked around. She noticed a poster on the wall. It had a big heart on it. "Valentines Dance... 14th February..." she read. She looked at Sora and smirked. "Hey, you could ask Kairi to go to that if she's your girlfriend by then!" She said, laughing.

Sora blushed. "D'you really think this'll wor--"

His sentence was cut short by him being picked off the ground by two strong arms and swung around. "Hey Soraaaa!" Yelled the intruder.

Sora was put down and the brunette turned his head. "Hey Riku!" Sora greeted.

Riku grinned at the shorter boy, then looked up and whistled. "Whozzis? Your girlfriend?"

Christie blushed and waved. "Hi, I'm Christie."

Riku jumped forward and took Christie's hand in his. "It is a fine day when I can meet such a fine lady as yourself!" He sang, kissing Christie's hand.

Christie's heart gave a large _budump_ then seemed to have stop completely. Judging by the temperature of her face, she assumed she was as scarlet as... well, as scarlet as scarlet. There aren't that many actual _scarlet_ things that come right to mind.

"Hey...!" Sora said, trying to sound defending. He managed to stifle his laughter but not his grin.

"Aw, Sora! Calm down!" Riku said. He wrapped his arm around Christie's neck and pulled her closer. Christie's blushing stopped when she received a large noogy.

"Oww!" She cried, laughing. "_Man_, you people _are_ straightforward!"

"Only the guys," laughed a new voice.

Everybody looked up to see a familiar redhead. "Hi, I'm Kairi. You new?"

Riku let go and Christie ran her fingers through her hair. "Y-yeah, I'm new. Name's Christie."

"Christie...? What kind of name is that?"

The blond put a hand over her heart. "My pride..." she muttered.

Kairi covered her mouth. "Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to sound rude, it's just... that isn't a popular name around here. I've never heard it before, in fact." She added with a slight giggle.

"So, you and Sora going to the Valentines dance?" Riku asked, pointing to the poster with his thumb.

"I don't know. Do you want to, Sora?" Christie asked.

"What? Uhm.. yeah, sure!" Sora replied, snapping out of his "Kairi trance".

"Cool! Me and Kairi are going together," Riku said, smiling. He walked over to Kairi and put a hand on her shoulder.

Sora's face flushed. "Cool..." he murmured.

Christie looked at the trio then grabbed Sora's hand. "C'mon, Sora! You still gotta show me around the island!" She said, dragging him away.

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"How could he!" Sora exclaimed.

He and Christie were sitting on the paupu fruit tree, watching the sunset.

"They could just be going as friends, you know," Christie replied.

"I know, but still...!" Sora sighed and picked up a wooden sword from the ground. He swung it around.

Christie jumped down and picked up another one. "C'mon, let's fight," she said, holding the sword up .

"No, I don--" His sentence was interrupted by Christie hitting his wrist. Sora's sword flew out of his hand. Christie held her sword to Sora's heart.

"See, now you'd be dead. There's a lesson, you know- never decline a challenge just because your friend stole your sword." She lowered her sword. "Go pick up your sword- we're gonna fight."

Sora gloomily stood up and pick up his sword. Christie swung her sword and he deflected it, but he missed the next swing. "Zero-two."

"You're keeping track?"

Christie raised her eyebrows.

After about 45 minutes, they stopped. They were tied, five-five, and Sora was reasonably happier. "Thanks," he said, smiling.

"No problem," Christie replied.

"Hey!"

Both teens turned to see Riku walking up the bridge. "For an outsider, you're pretty good!" He said, walking up to stand by Sora.

"You were watching?" Christie asked, blushing.

"Yeah, I was at the shack. Here, Sora-" Riku held his hand out, "-I wanna go against her."

"Careful," Sora said, handing his friend the sword, "she's a lot stronger than she looks. I'm heading home, anyway. See you later."

Christie and Riku waved and Sora walked down the bridge.

"Alright, let's do this," Riku said, holding his sword out in front of him.

"Don't go easy on me," Christie replied, smirking. She held her sword down.

Nothing happened for a good three seconds before Riku let out a war cry and lunged at Christie. The girl braced herself and held up her sword, flat-out. Riku hit it.

"You're fast," he commented, grinning

"You're strong," she replied, returning the grin.

Riku jumped back and lunged again. This time, Christie dodged and swung her sword around. Riku spun and blocked it. For a while, Christie would swing while Riku blocked, then Riku began trying to hit Christie while she blocked. He spun so he stood behind the girl. She held up her sword right before Riku hit it. They both stopped, breathing hard. Riku was standing so close to Christie, she could feel his heartbeat. At first, she didn't notice his hand on her stomach. When she did, her face went red.

"Careful," Christie said, giving a sidways smirk around her shoulder, "I'm pretty sure Sora wouldn't miss a heartbeat to punch you in the mouth." The blonde took the boy's hand and pulled it off.

"I'd like to see him try," Riku laughed.

Christie smiled. Sticking her sword into a soft spot in the ground, she walked onto the bridge. "I'm heading home," she called over her shoulder, "Ciao."

Riku waved, still smiling. "See you tomorrow."

The sun had set, but there was enough light for Christie to find her way to the long bridge back to the residential island Sora lived on. She looked over her shoulder and saw that Riku had lit a torch and was laying on the tree, looking up at the stars, smiling. She turned and looked forward again. '_This would be loads faster with a boat,_' she thought with a sigh.

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_**There's the second chapter! Sorry it's so long. Ah, I'm such a hopeless romantic! XD (Proof that I play the computer too much- XD XD XD lol)**_


	3. Notice

Hey chicks and chunks, the next episode ofKVH won't be up for awhile because I have some major things goin' on. Magical, happy major things!

Jennifer Morton from Digimon FDD asked me to be a guest author, so I'll be working on that, and I also have a Digimon FDD fanfic that I've been neglecting, _and_ I'm making christy january's fanfic, "The New Mrs. Weasley", (found in my favourite authors and favourite stories) a manga to be posted on my DeviantART account (-points to own website button-). (The manga won't be out 'till at least November- I'm still working on the character designes)

So, as you can see, I'm quite busy. XP I'll hopefully get the next episode up before school starts, but I doubt it.

Danke danke,

Catgirl AnimeFreak


	4. Chapter 3

_**Very, very romantic chapter! Me no ownie Kingdom Hearts. I wish I did, but it belongs to Disney and Squareenix and the song Christie sings is a part of "Feel Good Inc.", an awesome song by the Gorillaz. Only things I own in this fic is Christie and the plot.**_

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Christie woke up the next morning with the sun in her face. It took her a while for her to remember where exactly she was- which was inside her video game.

She stood up and went over to the window. The sun was still rising, so she figured it was around 7 o'clock. She folded her arms and smiled, watching the sun and soaking up the warmth. Back in her own dimension, she'd always miss the sunrise, waking up at 2 o'clock in the afternoon.

She spun around when the door clicked open. She sighed when she saw it was only Sora. He was carrying a plate with bacon and eggs and toast on it. "'Morning!" He whispered, handing the plate over.

"Good morning," she whispered back, taking the plate.

"Mom and her boyfriend are going on vacation for a week today, so we'll have the house to ourselves. We just have to wait up here for an hour or so," Sora explained.

"Cool," Christie said, taking a bite of toast. "Geez, you're lucky- my mom would never leave me alone for a week."

Sora laughed. "Well, she gets Riku to check in on me. He's only fifteen, but he's been more like a father than a friend. I think Mom trusts him more than me."

Christie nodded. "Yeah, back home I have..." she shook her head, thinking, "...four moms at least."

Sora laughed again. Christie's heart gave a _budump._ It wasn't the same budump as yesterday though, when she met Riku. This budump was different and weird- it wasn't a jump, it was a skip. A happy little skip. She put her plate down as two little words came to mind.

'_Oh, no..._'

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"Hey Kairi!" Riku called, waving.

Across the beach, Kairi waved back. "Hi Riku. What's up?" She asked as the silver-haired boy ran up to her.

"I only wanted to know if you knew where Christie was staying. I checked the motel and the guy looked at me like I had a frog on my head."

"Riku."

"Yeah?"

"You _do_ have a frog on your head."

Riku reached up and took the animal. "Toko! That's where you went! Yeah, so..." Riku looked at Kairi expectantly while cradling Toko in his arms.

Kairi looked at the frog and sort of coiled back. The way it was staring at her, she was half-expecting it to say "I'm taking over the world, and you're going first." Kairi shook her head. "No, I don't know where she's staying," Kairi said, glacing back and forth from Toko to Riku. "Ask Sora. He probably knows." Kairi cocked an eyebrow. "Why d'you wanna know?"

"Oh, uhm..." Riku started thinking of ways to gross her out without it being a complete lie. So he told the truth. "I just wanted to let her know that my arms really hurt this morning from last night, it was awesome, and that we should do it again sometime! Okay, well, see you!" And, with that, he spun on his heels and took off, leaving a very disgusted Kairi in the dust.

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"So, what are we going to do today?" Sora asked, coming through the door after putting Christie's plate down in the kitchen.

"Dunno," the blonde replied. She pulled her white shirt over her black one and fixed her hair in the mirror on Sora's door.

"Hm... well, I gotta go pick up some groceries, so I guess you can roam around for a little while."

"Sounds cool," Christie replied, looking at the brunette. He smiled at her in his goofy way and her heart skipped again. She quickly shook it off and smiled back.

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Christie kicked up a little sand as she dragged her feet. She was slouched over with her hands in her pockets, as she does when she's deep in thought. The blonde stopped and looked out to the ocean. _What if I never get back...? What if they've forgotten about me...? How... how will I get back!_

She blinked back tears and sat down. Bringing her knees to her chest, she let the tide lick at her sneakers. "You want to take me, don't you...?" She muttered, reaching out and letting the water touch her finger.

"Hey, why are you sad?"

Christie slowly turned around and saw Riku. "Am I sad?" She asked quietly, a smile spreading across her lips.

"You seem it," the older boy replied as he sat down beside her.

"I see."

Christie looked back out to the ocean. Before long, she began to sway back and forth and sing.

"Windmill, windmill for the land,

Turn forever, hand in hand.

Take it all in on your stride,

It is sinking, falling down.

Love forever, love is free,

Let's turn forever, you and me.

Windmill, windmill for the land,

is everybody in ...?"

"That's a nice song," Riku said, smiling at Christie. "Is that from where you come from?"

Christie nodded. She barely noticed the silence that followed. She was still humming in her head.

"Christie..." Riku muttered.

It wasn't much, but it was enough for the blonde to snap out of her trance. "Yes?" She asked, facing the boy. He was staring at her very intensly.

"How easy do you forget...?"

The girl smiled. "Unfortunatly, very easy," she replied, returning her gaze to the sea.

All this happened in a flash. Riku put his hand around Christie's waist and pulled her in. She was so close, she could feel the muscles in Riku's chest as he breathed. Riku's lips brushed against Christie's and her breath caught in her throat. She finally breathed in, causing her mouth to open. Riku took this as an advantage and pushed his lips into hers. His tongue brushed against her lower lip... around... and tickled half-way across her top lip, sending a shiver down her spine. He pulled away half an inch and whispered, "Foget that," as if it were an easy thing to do.

The boy then stood up, brushed his pants off, and walked away. This time, when Christie looked back at the blue waves, she didn't see them. She didn't see anything in front of her. All she saw was what just happened. She bit her knuckle hard and shut her eyes. _Don't cry ... don't cry ... not over a silly thing like this!_

She coughed out a sob and took her now red knuckle from her mouth. She stood up and dusted herself off and barely jumped when there was a drop on her shoulder ... on her head ... all around her ...

Christie looked up. She hadn't even noticed the clouds rolling in. Gloomily, she stuck her hands back into her pockets, slouched over, and dragged her feet back to Sora's house.

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"Hey! Hey Christie!"

Christie stood up straight and stared at the approaching redhead, who was carrying a large blue umbrella.

"Hey Kairi," she greeted when the other girl had finally caught up with her, "what's up?"

"Riku was looking for you," she huffed out while putting the umbrella over Christie's head out of courtesy, "Did'e find you?"

"Erm ... yeah, he did ..."

"Okay. Uhh ... I have a question though ..."

"Shoot."

_What did you two do last night?_ She wanted to ask that question, but decided against it. She must respect Riku's privacy. "What do you think of Riku?" She asked instead.

Christie started. _Did Kairi see what happened ... ?_ "He's ... he's nice ... a good person ..."

"Oh ... do ... do you think I may have a chance with him?"

That was it. Kairi was only asking Christie's advice ... but wait ... Sora likes Kairi ... Kari likes Riku ... Riku likes Christie ... and Christie likes Sora ... ? _Augh! It's like a four cornered triangle!_

"Christie?"

"A-ah ... yeah ... yeah, I think you may have a chance with him."

"Are you and Sora going out?"

_No._ "Yes."

"Oh, really."

_No, not really._ "Yeah ..."

"How long have you and Sora've been going out?"

_Never! _"About a week."

"I see. Well ... I gotta go now. See you later."

"Bye."

With that, both girls turned on their heels and left. Once again, Christie slouched over, put her hands in her pockets, and dragged her feet. Playing Cupid was going to be harder than she thought.

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_**'Bout time we got into the romance, eh? So ... yay or nay for t3h luuuuuuv?**_


	5. Halloween Special

"Woo-hoo! It's Halloween!"

Christie and Sora high-five.

"So ..." Riku started, "What're you two gonna be for Halloween?"

"Dunno! What are we gonna be, Sora?"

"Dunno!"

"Hey, I know!" Kairi said, "Let's all go to Halloween town!"

"Great idea!" They all said in unision.

**---Dun, dun, dun, dun! Dun! Dun, dun!---**

"Well, here we are! Everybody, get off and see what you are!"

Sora beamed down and aquired his pumpkin mask and devil suit.

Kairi beamed down and aquired a shirt striped orange and yellow, a leather mini-skirt, goth boots, and black lipstick.

Christie beamed down and got a cut-up-ninja suit, complete with scars.

Riku beamed down, but he disappeared into the bushes so fast, nobody saw what he was.

"C'mon, Riku!" Kairi called.

"Yeah, we wanna see what you are!" Sora said.

"It can't be _that_ bad!" Christie assured.

"It is ... it's ... horrifying ..." Riku muttered.

There was a rustling in the bushes, and Riku walked out. Christie let out an ear peircing scream, Kairi fainted, and Sora nearly soiled his armor, for Riku's suit was so hideous ...

So horrifying ...

He could only be ...

one thing ...

BARNEY!

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_**Well, I hope you liked my little story! Woo-hoo! I'm 15 now! High-five! Chucky cheese! Cool beans!**_

_**Ahh ... poor Riku, ne?**_


	6. Chapter 4

_**I don't own Kingdom Hearts.**_

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**Last time on KVH ...**

Sora laughed again. Christie's heart gave a _budump._ It wasn't the same budump as yesterday though, when she met Riku. This budump was different and weird- it wasn't a jump, it was a skip. A happy little skip. She put her plate down as two little words came to mind.

'_Oh, no..._'

All this happened in a flash. Riku put his hand around Christie's waist and pulled her in. She was so close, she could feel the muscles in Riku's chest as he breathed. Riku's lips brushed against Christie's and her breath caught in her throat. She finally breathed in, causing her mouth to open. Riku took this as an advantage and pushed his lips into hers. His tongue brushed against her lower lip... around... and tickled half-way across her top lip, sending a shiver down her spine. He pulled away half an inch and whispered, "Foget that," as if it were an easy thing to do.

"I see. Well ... I gotta go now. See you later."

"Bye."

With that, both girls turned on their heels and left. Once again, Christie slouched over, put her hands in her pockets, and dragged her feet. Playing Cupid was going to be harder than she thought.

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Christie woke with a start from a nightmare. She was home, but everybody had forgotten about her ... eventually she was being hunted down, as if she were an animal ... it was very weird.

Christie got up and went over to the window. The sun was just appearing over the ocean. She sighed and rubbed her eyes. _I'm so tired ... but I'm afraid to have that nightmare again ..._

She leaned forward and put her head to the window and looked down. Riku was picking up beach wood around Sora's house. He stopped, rubbed his neck and began to look up. Christie gasped and jumped back ... right into Sora. She began falling down, but he caught her around the waist.

"Woah, careful!" He said, smiling.

"Oh ... Sora. Good morning." She said. She could feel her cheeks heat up in embarrasment.

Sora helped her up. "What was so scary?"

"Huh?"

"Out the window - something must've been scary to make you jump like that."

"Oh ... a spider. A very big spider ..." She added under her breath.

Sora laughed. "Yeah, there's quite a few around here." Sora scratched his head and blushed. "You ... looked pretty cute standing there with that t-shirt on ..."

Christie didn't know whether to be offended or what - she hates being called cute, but she was called cute by Sora.

To hide her confusion, she looked down at the t-shirt Sora had lent her so he could wash her clothes. It nearly touched her knees, and when she saw what was written on it last night, she nearly laughed out loud. "What!" Sora had exclaimed. "_Final Fantasy_ is my favourite band!"

"Thanks ..." she muttered, trying to sound casual.

"No problem."

Both teens looked out the window again. The sun was half up already. Sora wrapped his arm around Christie's shoulders and pulled her closer. _He's just trying to be friendly, he's just trying to be friendly ... !_ Christie assured herself.

Sora rested his head against hers. "What's it like where you're from ... the sunrise, I mean?"

Christie relaxed. "I don't know. I haven't watched it since I was five. I never wake up until after noon."

Sora paused as he took this in. "That's sad," he whispered after a while.

She was about to ask what he meant, when it suddenly set in. _Nine years ... I haven't looked at the sunrise in nine years ..._

Christie bit her lip, suddenly feeling quite guilty. Sora looked down at her and smiled. "Hey ... I'm sorry if I made you feel bad ... I suppose we all have different lifestyles?" Christie smiled and nodded. Sora's smile broadened into the familiar grin and he pulled her into a one arm hug. "I'll get your clothes and then I'll start breakfast, 'kay?"

Christie nodded again and Sora left. She stepped closer to the window and looked down again. Riku had gone, and in his place was a spider. A very big spider.

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Christie had finished changing and was heading downstairs. She stopped at the platform between the two stories when she saw a familiar white-head.

"Hey," Riku said, grinning and shifting the beachwood in his arms to wave. "I didn't know you were staying here. Or are you?"

Christie blushed a scarlet to match Sora's as Riku's grin turned to an evil smirk. _Okay ... you've dealt with situations like this in your own dimension ... do what you do there here!_

Christie took a deep breath and put a hand on her hip. "Actually, I am."

Riku's smirk lessened into a smile. "Alright then," he said, obviously satisfied by how she handled the awkward situation. He turned his attention back to his friend. "So eight, right?" Sora, who was still blushing quite a bit, nodded. "Okay, see you then." With that, he waved to the two of them and left.

"What was that about?" Christie asked.

"U-uhm ... the teens hold a big bonfire a few days before Valentines. With ... you know, dancing and stuff. You wanna go? I mean like, it's like the one on Valentines Day, so it's okay if you don't want to ..."

"No, I'll go. Imagine what they'll think if the two of us stay in here during a Valentines party." Sora, who still hadn't fully recovered from Riku's suggestive words, turned beet red again. Christie let out a low chuckle. "Sorry. So it starts at eight, right?" Sora nodded. "... alright. Cool. Er ... is breakfast ready?"

That snapped Sora out of it. He grinned again. "Yup!"

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After breakfast, Sora had to run out to town to get groceries and Christie decided to go out to the paupu fruit trees. As she walked along the long bridge, she thought about everything that's happened in the past two days. She was in her video game and had a crush on a boy who had a crush on a girl who had a crush on another boy who had a crush on her. Before she knew it she was beside the paupu tree, climbing on. _All right, Christie, _she thought, leaning back, _you must do your duty and get Sora and Kairi together! Your emotions are virtual here. Nothing's real, and no romantic bishie is going to come home with you ... _her mind trailed off as she closed her eyes ...

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When she woke up, it was dark and she was laying on the beach. She sat up and blinked the sleep out of her eyes.

"Hey."

She turned to see Riku laying on his back beside her.

"Hey ... what am I doing here?" She asked.

"They're having the bonfire on that little island. I didn't want to leave you sleeping there."

"Omigosh! The bonfire!" She jumped up and quickly dusted herself off.

"Hey, wait," Riku said, getting up, "I don't think you want to go."

"What? Sora asked me to go." She looked around to see she was only a few feet from the bridge to the little island and started for it.

Riku grabbed her hand. "Why go with Sora? Why not with me?"

Christie yanked her hand away. "A, Sora's my boyfriend, B, he asked me first." She started walking again.

"What does he have that I don't? I'm older, smarter, stronger and better looking!" Riku asked, following her.

"He's nicer, sensitive, my age and knows when to quit!"

Riku caught up with her and walked beside her. "Come on ... You know I'm attracted to you and I know you're attracted to me." He reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Riku, stop! What's gotten into you?" Christie demanded, stopping to face the boy and yanking her hand away.

Riku's face turned sad. "There's a legend on these islands about the paupu fruit. If two people share it ... "

"... their destinies become intertwined, I know."

"Yeah, and, while you were sleeping ... I slipped a bit of paupu fruit juice into your mouth -" Christie imagining Riku carefully pouring yellow-orange juice into her mouth brought a blush to her cheeks "- and I ate the rest of the fruit. It was just to see if the legend was true."

Christie looked into Riku's eyes and put a hand on his shoulder. "Riku ... I am attracted to you, but I'm not interested."

"I know," Riku sighed. He looked over to the tiny island. The fire was so bright, it lit up the clouds. He took Christie's wrist. "Come on, we're going to be late." He pulled her along the beach until she was walking beside him. He let go of her wrist and she suddenly felt very alone.

Even when they got to the party, she felt a little lonely. Teens from other islands and from this island were crowded on the island. Every once in awhile, she'd steal a glance at Riku. Everytime she did, he'd seem to sense her and look at her too. She caught on after the third time and managed to look away in time.

"Hey, Christie."

The blonde looked up and smiled at the brunette approaching. "Hi, Sora."

"What's up?"

"What do you mean?"

Sora stared at her. "You and Riku were late coming to the party and you seem really distracted."

"Oh. I fell asleep on the beach and Riku found me and woke me up. Then we just talked for awhile and lost track of the time, that's all."

Sora leaned closer and peered at her. "Is there something going on between you and Riku?"

Christie rolled her eyes. "He wishes." She looked at the other teens dancing to the song the band was playing. It reminded her of _I Will Survive_. Instinctivly, she began humming the song.

"What's that?"

"Huh? Oh. It's a song from back home." Then she began to sing it ...

"At first I was afraid,

I was petrified!

Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side,

but then I spent so many nights thinking how you did me wrong,

and I grew strong,

and I learned how to get along!"

Out of a surge of energy she didn't normally have (really), she jumped onto the stage, motioned the band players to keep the tune, and continued singing.

"So you're back,

from outer space.

I just walked in to find here with that sad look upon your face.

I should have changed that stupid lock,

I should have made you leave your key,

if I had known for just one second you'd be back to bother me!"

The band started to play with a little more energy, and Christie had to pick up the tempo.

"Go on, now go!

Walk out the door!

Just turn around now,

'cuz you're not welcome anymore!

Weren't you the one who tried to hurt me with 'good bye'?

Did you think I'd crumble?

Did you think I'd lay down and die?

Oh, no, not I!

I will survive,

and as long as I know how to love I know I'll stay alive!

I've got all my life to live,

and I've got all my love to give,

and I'll survive."

Christie looked down into the crowd and met Riku's eyes.

"I will survive."

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_**Sorry it took so long! The song is "I Will Survive", but I don't know who it's by. All I know is that it's an awesome disco song. Review!**_


	7. Chapter 5 pt I

_**Wanna know the distance between working on these chapters are? I start almost immediatly after I post the last one, then forget about it, work on it about a week later, get writers' block for 2-4 weeks, then work on it til the wee hours of the morn.**_

_**Frig, I love my life. XD**_

_**Now, okay, I know I'm not supposed to, but I have to reply to this review from Guardian Angel21 -**_

_**Sora - Kairi**_

_**Kairi - Riku**_

_**Riku - Christie**_

_**Christie - Sora**_

_**It's a love boat! XD**_

_**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

**Last time on KVH ...**

Both teens looked out the window again. The sun was half up already. Sora wrapped his arm around Christie's shoulders and pulled her closer. _He's just trying to be friendly, he's just trying to be friendly ... !_ Christie assured herself.

Sora rested his head against hers. "What's it like where you're from ... the sunrise, I mean?"

Christie relaxed. "I don't know. I haven't watched it since I was five. I never wake up until after noon."

Sora paused as he took this in. "That's sad," he whispered after a while.

Before she knew it she was beside the paupu tree, climbing on. _All right, Christie, _she thought, leaning back, _you must do your duty and get Sora and Kairi together! Your emotions are virtual here. Nothing's real, and no romantic bishie is going to come home with you ... _her mind trailed off as she closed her eyes ...

"What does he have that I don't? I'm older, smarter, stronger and better looking!" Riku asked, following her.

"He's nicer, sensitive, my age and knows when to quit!"

Riku caught up with her and walked beside her. "Come on ... You know I'm attracted to you and I know you're attracted to me." He reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Riku, stop! What's gotten into you?" Christie demanded, stopping to face the boy and yanking her hand away.

Christie looked down into the crowd and met Riku's eyes.

"I will survive."

_**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

Christie sat up immediatly. She was awoken by a thud downstairs. She looked over at Sora's bed to see him hanging halfway off. She smiled and rolled her eyes. The blonde girl jumped as she heard the thud again. Very quietly, she pushed the covers off her and snuck downstairs.

Once downstairs, she hid behind a wall and peeked into the kitchen. The window was wide open. _Riku ... _she thought immediatly. _He really is too superstitious about that bloody paupu fruit._ She walked into the kitchen and closed the window and spun around on her heels - to come face-to-face with ...

... a cat.

Christie sighed. _And you really are too quick to jump to conclusions._ She picked the cat up and opened the window again, setting the small feline gently on the ground. She walked out of the room to go back upstairs. Since the bonfire she couldn't get the stubborn boy out of her mind. She closed her eyes and sighed again, shaking her head. When she got to the stairs, she opened her eyes - just to find Riku sitting on the bottom step smirking at her.

"_Bloody cripes!_" She whispered loudly in surprise.

"There you are," he said calmly, still smirking.

"I knew it! I knew it was you!" She said, wagging a finger at her.

Riku grinned and handed her her regular shorts. "Here, put these on." He stood up and went to leave the room. Christie "barely" noticed his tight, untucked t-shirt and baggy shorts.

"Why?" She asked before he disappeared.

"Just do it. I have something to show you." Before he left her view, she could see his eyes scan her in Sora's t-shirt. Her face heated up and he smirked again before leaving the room.

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"Riku, please tell me where we're going!"

Riku shook his head. "It's a surprise."

"The best prize is a surprise," Christie muttered.

Riku and Christie had travelled by boat to a third island on the other side of the residential island then walked for about ten minutes until they reached the foot of a mountain. "C'mon," Riku said, taking Christie by the hand.

He led her up the side to this cave. He stood to the side of and and motioned for her to go inside. She looked at him, then inside the cave, then back at him, cocking an eyebrow.

"Hurry," he whispered, smiling.

She walked in, trying to make the least amount of noise possible. She only stopped when she hit a rugged wall. "Er ... " She looked back at the entrance of the cave to see Riku pushing a large rock in front of the opening. Panic rushed through her. Had this been a trap? "Riku! What are you doing!" She demanded.

He held up a hand and a finger to his lips. "Don't worry. The moon is almost in position."

She looked at him quizzically. He left the entrance open a crack and walked a few steps toward her and stopped, putting his hands into his pockets. She was still staring at him when light began to filter through the ceiling.

She looked up and realised immediatly what he wanted to show her. "Oh my gosh ..." she whispered, not wanting to break the magic the crystals were making.

Withing two minutes, the moon was high enough to create enough light to bounce off the rest of the crystals. Colours were surrounding her. She jumped when she felt Riku wrap his arms around her by the back. "R-Riku, what are you ... ?"

"Ssh ... " he whispered, "... there's no law against hugging, is there?" She could feel him smile as he rested his head against hers. His arms slipped from her shoulders to around her waist. She smiled and put her hands on his arms, leaning back on him.

Closing her eyes and taking in Riku's warmth, she realised that, as long as she was here, everything was real. She opened her eyes and twisted a bit to look up at Riku. He leaned down a bit as she leaned up. Their lips met and the same emotion she had felt the other day surged through her again and took over.

_Every little thing, _she thought as she twisted the rest of the way.

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Christie slipped inside the large house. She closed the door and smiled. Riku brought her home after about an hour, when the moon was almost past the cave. After their kiss, they had sat down together, leaning against the wall and holding eachother close. She giggled when she remember Riku "had" to carry Christie down the mountain bridal-style when they left, in case she "was still a little shakey in the knees", as he had put it.

She unbuckled her shorts and slipped them off, when she heard a knock at the kitchen window - the one she was standing right in front of.

She blushed as she opened it. "You're so cute when you blush," Riku whispered, grinning.

Christie leaned over the counter and kissed him. "Good-night, Mister Riku."

Riku kissed her back. "G'night, Miss Christie."

He slipped away and she watched him as he got into his boat. He waved at her and blew her a kiss, and she sent one back. He rowed to the other island and she closed the window. She put her shorts into the washing room and tip-toed upstairs. She sidestepped into Sora's room - to see him sitting on his bed, legs and arms crossed, and scowling.

"Oh, shoot." She said.

"Where have you been!" Sora yelled.

"It's pointless to yell. You can't change the past." She said calmly, leaning against the door.

"I was worried sick! I got up to go down to get a glass of water, just to see you missing from your bed. So I figure 'Oh, she must have been thirsty, too!' When I get downstairs, however, I don't find you, _nor_ your shorts, _nor _your shoes, _nor_ Riku's boat. What were you two up to?"

"Riku just wanted to show me something," she said. She couldn't hide the quaver of anger in her voice.

"What? A make-out session under the paupu tree!"

"No - it was in a crystal cave up in the mountain."

Sora's jaw dropped. "What - ah - who - !"

Christie glared at Sora, glueing herself to the door. Eventually she eyed the bedspread on the floor next to his bed. She turned around and opened the door, muttering, "I'm sleeping on the sofa." She slammed the door as hard as she could. It relieved a bit of her anger, but she figured she'd have to slam it 53 more times before she was calm again. She stomped down the steps and sat down on the sofa. She sniffed and fell sideways. Before she knew it, tears were streaming down her face (sideways into her ear).

_What the frig is wrong with Sora!_ She asked herself. _I mean - geez! What Riku and I do in the middle of the night is none of Sora's friggin' business!_ She sniffed again and rolled into a tighter ball. _What's gonna happen when it's time to leave ... ?_

"Hey."

Christie sat up to see Sora standing there holding a puffy quilt and a few pillows. He was looking shyly at the floor. Christie wiped her face. "Hey." She muttered.

He crossed the room to the sofa. The brunette threw the pillows to where Christie had had her head and unravelled the quilt. He set it over her and sat down at her feet. He was still staring at the floor when he whispered, "I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you."

Christie wiped her eyes again. "Got that straight, kid." They both shared a chuckle. "I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have snuck off like that."

Sora put his head into his hands and rubbed his face. Christie thought he looked more like a 40-year-old than a 14-year-old. Sora sighed. "I don't know what's gotten into me ... like, I know you're not my girlfriend, but my mind still put you under the 'Heavy Protection' list." He rubbed the back of his neck and looked at Christie.

The blonde thought for a moment. "Well ... I guess I'm going to have to get off that list, aren't I?" Sora nodded and a hint of a smile appeared at the sides of his mouth. "Okay, so, from this point on, you and I are just friends. That means we can't appear in public as much anymore, and, most importantly, I can't sleep in the same room as you. Tomorrow, we work double duty to get you and Kairi together, got it?"

Sora grinned and Christie smiled back at the 14-year-old she knew and had fallen in-and-out of love with. "Great," he said, standing up. He crossed the room again.

"Oh, Sora."

He stopped at the doorway.

"I really hope you can run fast."

"Why?"

"'Cuz as soon as I tell Riku you made me cry, I don't think I can hold him off for more than 10 seconds."

Sora laughed and left. Christie lied back down. First-thing-first, she was going to have to tell Riku everything.

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_**The first of a two-part chapter! Wow, talk about drama, huh? It's getting more and more like a soap opera every update. o.O**_

_**Guess what - after the next part of this chapter, there's only three left! But don't go all Sora on me - I'm working on the sequel! Mya-ha-ha!**_

_**REVIEW!**_


	8. Chapter 5 pt II

_**And now, the second part ...**_

_**Ohmigosh, I just realised Kairi hasn't made an appearance since chapter 3! Oh, well, she'll be in this one.**_

_**Maybe.**_

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"Hey, Riku!" Christie was surprised to see Riku sitting at Sora's kitchen table.

"Good morning!" He said, standing up and walking over to the girl. He kissed her forhead, then her cheek, then her lips.

When they broke apart, she noticed Sora standing there. His face was pale with an unreadable expression on it, and his eyes looked like they were fighting to stay open and close at the same time. The cup he was holding was shaking a bit.

"You okay?" Riku asked Sora.

"Enh - uh - y-yeah. J-just a b-bit of a st-om-ach-ache," he squeaked out.

Christie knew exactly what was going on. "Oh, here, maybe you should go sit down in the livingroom for a while." She took Sora's wrist and gently led him past his friend and into the other room, calling "Riku, wait here just a minute." behind her.

She led him to the sofa and sat him down. "You okay?" She whispered.

Sora shook his head. "No, no, you're still on the list." He looked up. "I'm really sorry."

Christie put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't be. It's okay. I'm going to go tell Riku everything."

Sora looked at his glass - which was still shaking a bit - and nodded.

Christie patted his shoulder and left. "What was wrong?" Riku asked as she came back into the kitchen.

"Riku ... I have to tell you something ... I'm not from here -"

"Duh," he said, smiling.

"No, I mean, I'm not from this dimension. I come from a place called 'Earth'. I don't know how I got here, but, when I did, I saw Sora and Kairi on the beach. When Sora came back, I decided to play Cupid by playing girlfriend to get him and Kairi together. Unfortunatly, though Sora knew I wasn't really his girlfriend, his mind is still making him be over-protective."

"So? What do you want me to do?"

"Well, there's two things - we need to back off around Sora, for his mentality and ours."

Riku nodded. "And the other thing?"

"We need your help getting Sora and Kairi together."

"Why?"

Christie took a deep breath. "Because she has a crush on you - she told me."

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Sora, Christie, and Riku all walked up the boardwalk to the market. For some reason, after Riku visits, Sora's fridge and cupboards are in lack of good food.

"Hey guys!"

Christie recognised that voice. She hadn't heard it sice chapter 3 - er, I mean ... two days ago, but she still knew who it was.

"Hey, Kairi," she said cheerfully. She turned around - and wished she hadn't. The young red-head threw the three (Author - "Threw the three, thruh thuh theh, th th th ... aw, man.") into a massive bear-hug.

"Hey, what's up with you?" Riku asked when she let go.

"Dunno! I'm just in a good mood!"

"Well, uhh, maybe you could cheer Sora up? He's in a bad mood - hey, Christie! Look at that!" With that, Riku dragged the blonde off by her wrist, leaving the other to alone.

"Well, that was weird," she could hear Kairi say.

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Christie hit the large ball back to Riku. When they ran off, they had gone back to Sora's house and "borrowed" his beachball and took it down to the beach. Christie soon learned that her pants could zipoff into shorts and took off her white over-shirt to play in the water.

"Ha! I win!" She said as the ball hit the water.

Riku picked up the ball. "Yeah?" He said, walking over to her. "And what do you win?"

She kissed him. "Bragging rights." She smirked and splashed him.

"Oh, you -- !" Riku picked Christie up and started walking into deeper waters.

"No!" She yelled, laughing, "No! No no no!"

"What? I can't hear you! Go deeper? Okay!" She knew perfectly well he was grinning from ear-to-ear and began kicking. "Hey watch it! Oh, it's too deep for me to go any further! I'm going to have to drop you off here!"

And drop her he did. When she reemerged, he was laughing his head off. "You're gonna pay for that!" She yelled. She jumped on him and he caught her in his arms.

"Oh, well, I sorta like this get-back," he said, smirking.

"Oh, this isn't it, love, but I like it, too." She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "This is it."

She rocked backwards and twisted so he hit the water first and got the worst of it. She let go of him and started to swim backwards. When he didn't emerge, she paused. "Riku?" _Tch, like that'll do any good. He's underwater - !_ "Aah!" She screamed before being pulled under by her ankle.

In the water, she saw Riku. She swam over to him and he met her halfway and they shared a very quick kiss before he picked her up, once again, bridal-style.

"I did it!" He yelled out when they were above the surface. "I found a mermaid!"

Christie laughed and looked at Riku. "Oh, but Mister Human, I cannot stay out of the water alone," she said, "I need to share a kiss with my true love to live out of the water."

"Oh? Will I do?" He asked.

She gave him a quick peck. "Yup."

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"C'mon. Sora, Kairi and I used to play here when we were young," Riku said as he pulled Christie into the secret place.

Once inside, she found it more beuatiful in real life than in the game. She went over to the pictures of Sora and Kairi and gently passed her fingers over them. She looked over to the door and sadness fell over her. _Riku ... he'll be swallowed by the shadows ... does he know what's coming?_

"What's behind that door ... ?" Christie asked. Her voice was wary and quiet.

Riku grinned and reached for the doorknob. Christie planted her feet firmly into the ground and readied herself. His fingers wrapped themselves around the handle and panic ran through the girl's veins. Riku's thumb pressed down on the button. And he pulled.

... nothing. Absolutly nothing - it didn't even open. There was just a _click! click!_ signally the poor boy was just trying to open a locked door.

"No clue," Riku said as Christie let out a silent-yet-huge sigh of relief behind his back. "It's been locked forever."

"I see," Christie said, smiling. She looked around and noticed another picture on the wall in a far, dark corner. "What's that?" She asked, walking over to the wall.

Riku joined her. "Huh, don't know. I've never seen it before."

Both teens studied the picture. It showed a young girl with short hair and glasses with a very tall young man with spikey hair. _Why does he look so familiar ... ?_ Christie thought. The picture next to it showed an old man in a cloack shooting the girl and the young man jumping and reaching towards her wrist. Then there was a large spiral and there were no more pictures.

"Weird - " Christie said before being interrupted by Sora running into the cave. His bug eyes and severe blushing said he did something big.

"What's up?" Christie asked. Both her and Riku were grinning.

"I asked her," Sora said quickly.

"Asked who what?" Riku questioned, his grin growing.

"I-I asked K-Kairi to the d-dance."

"Great!" Christie exclaimed. "What'd she say?"

"I ran away."

There was a long, awkward pause.

"What?" Riku asked.

"B-before she could answer ... I-I ran away."

Christie looked at Riku. Both their grins were replaced with gapes. She looked back at Sora who was eyeing the pictures of him and Kairi.

"Wow," was all Riku said.

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"Think you'll ever recover?" Christie asked as she dried her hair.

They had spent the rest of the day shopping for clothes for the Valentine's dance coming up - Christie refused to show the guys her dress, but the saleslady said she looked beautiful - and then they all went home. Christie, who smelled like seaweed and was getting sticky from the seasalt, took a shower and came down into the kitchen to find Sora sitting at the table, holding a mug of hot chocolate, and looking exactly the same as he did when he ran into the cave earlier that day.

Sora merely shook his head and pointed to another mug filled with hot chocolate, then to a bowl of marshmallows, both sitting on the counter.

She grabbed the cup and dropped three marshmallows in it, then sat across from Sora. She sipped her chocolate as he stared blanky ahead. Getting bored, the girl reached across the table and poked Sora's nose. "Beep," she said.

That got him out of it. He laughed and swatted her hand away. He took a drink and then suddenly broke out into a smirk.

"Thinkin' about sharin' a cup o' chocolate with Kairi, ain't'cha?" Christie asked, grinning.

Sora ducked his head and his smirk grew broader. "No, but now I am."

Christie threw her head back and laughed. She rubbed her eye and looked at the night sky outside. "It's getting late, so I'm gonna take this hot chocolate to bed." The girl stood up and waved. "Buenos dias," she said, walking out of the room.

" 'Night," Sora called.

_**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

_**Luff t3h fluff.**_

**_Okay, you guys have to read a fic call "Three Sisters" by Sonora the Free! It's really awesome! Go! Read it now!_**

_**REVIEW!**_


	9. Chapter 6

_**Ack! Sorry it took so long! I had writer's block (again) and Fanfiction was being a bwah-hah. Anyway - on with the show!**_

_**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

_Last time on KVH ..._

"Riku ... I have to tell you something ... I'm not from here -"

"Duh," he said, smiling.

"No, I mean, I'm not from this dimension. I come from a place called 'Earth'. I don't know how I got here, but, when I did, I saw Sora and Kairi on the beach. When Sora came back, I decided to play Cupid by playing girlfriend to get him and Kairi together. Unfortunatly, though Sora knew I wasn't really his girlfriend, his mind is still making him be over-protective."

---

"What's behind that door ... ?" Christie asked. Her voice was wary and quiet.

Riku grinned and reached for the doorknob. Christie planted her feet firmly into the ground and readied herself. His fingers wrapped themselves around the handle and panic ran through the girl's veins. Riku's thumb pressed down on the button. And he pulled.

... nothing. Absolutly nothing - it didn't even open. There was just a _click! click!_ signally the poor boy was just trying to open a locked door.

"No clue," Riku said as Christie let out a silent-yet-huge sigh of relief behind his back.

---

She grabbed the cup and dropped three marshmallows in it, then sat across from Sora. She sipped her chocolate as he stared blanky ahead. Getting bored, the girl reached across the table and poked Sora's nose. "Beep," she said.

That got him out of it. He laughed and swatted her hand away. He took a drink and then suddenly broke out into a smirk.

"Thinkin' about sharin' a cup o' chocolate with Kairi, ain't'cha?" Christie asked, grinning.

_**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

Christie stumbled into the kitchen with her eyes half-closed. She was awoken by the smell of pancakes and bacon.

"Good morning."

She blinked and realised she was standing in front of Riku who was standing in front of Sora's old wood oven.

"Enh," she greeted back.

Riku smirked as Christie rubbed her eyes, her bottom lip pouting out slightly. "Where's Sora ... ?" She muttered.

Riku's grin faltered a bit and he faced the pancakes again. "Went out to gather fire wood," he said bluntly.

Christie wrapped her arms around him. "Okay, then," she said, resting her head on his chest.

Riku's grin returned and he put an arm around Christie. At that moment, the door swung open and Sora stepped inside. When he saw Riku and Christie, his eyes bugged out and he dropped all of the wood he was carrying. The three of them simply stared at each other for a few seconds before Sora jumped.

"O-oh," he stammered, "I-I'm sorry." He got down on his knees and began picking up the wood back into his arms again. He was soon joined by Christie. "No, no, it's okay ... " he murmured.

She held out two peices of firewood to him. When he looked up, she gave a comforting smile. "I want to help," she said.

Sora smiled shyly and took the two peices of wood. "Thank you."

Christie nodded, still smiling. As she returned her attention to the wood, she couldn't shake the feeling that Riku was glaring at her.

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"I'm not so sure I like you living with Sora."

Christie looked at Riku in shock. During breakfast, she noticed Riku was acting strangly and was unusually quiet - even when Sora was rubbing off that he had won a race earlier that week against Riku. When they were alone, she suggested they go for a walk. So here they were, on the beach in front of the mountain that held the crystal cave inside.

"What do you mean?" Christie asked, still shocked.

Riku wrapped his arms around her and they stopped walking. "I just ... don't think you should live with him. He's getting ... jealous."

At that word, Christie knew exactly what was going on. "And you're not?" She demanded, looking at him. She was getting angry - and it takes a lot to get her angry.

Riku looked at her. "What - no - why - I'm not jealous - why would _I_ be jealous?" He asked, his eyebrows twitching.

Christie broke free of his arms. "You think I'm still in love with him, don't you?" Riku stared at her, his mouth forming a straight line. "Well?" She asked, putting a fist on her hip.

Riku swallowed and tried to escape her angry glare, only making it worse. "Alright, yes, I do think you're still in love with him."

Christie's eyes narrowed. She would have laughed at his flinch if she wasn't so angry. "Take me home, Riku." She ordered quietly.

Riku's face twisted into a slight scowl. "Fine!" He spat.

The two of them stepped into the boat. Riku had automatically held his hand out to help Christie, but she didn't even look at it. They sat in silence, Christie looking out to sea with her arms and legs crossed, and Riku glaring at her, rowing the boat.

"You know I'm so angry I could topple this boat over and leave you to drown right now." He muttered.

Christie looked at him. "I can swim just as well as you." She said. She returned her gaze out to the horizon. As she looked at the black clouds looming in the distance, she could've sworn she saw Riku stick his tongue out at her.

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"Well, thank you Riku, it's so nice of you to drop me off here instead of the residential island," Christie said sarcastically.

She jumped out of the boat and onto the beach of the community island. Now she'd have to walk across the bridge to get back to Sora's house.

Riku dragged the boat up to her. "I don't want you living with Sora."

Christie spun around to yell at him, but instead of seeing his face, she saw his chest instead. She looked up at him and met with his cold blue eyes. He quickly wrapped his arms around her, pushing her face into his chest. As she listened to his heartbeat, she could feel her anger softening and tears springing to her eyes. _No, no, no! I'm not weak!_ She shouted to herself, _Stupid Riku! Stupid, rotten Riku! You're making me weak!_ Her anger was boiling again. She tried to push away, but he held on tighter. Then she noticed how they were standing. An invisible, mischevious smile spread it's way across her mind. Quickly and sharply, she lifted her knee ...

... and promptly kneed him in the crotch.

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Christie ran up to Sora's door, shivering. A huge thunderstorm had started as she was running across the bridge. When she had sprinted up the steps, she stopped and looked out to the other island. She felt a little guilty for leaving Riku out there.

As if on cue, Sora swung the door open. A slight blush crossed his cheeks as he stared at Christie - she was soaking wet, making her clothes stick to her. Her hair was hanging over her face, covering one eye and almost hiding the other. Christie stared back at him, her teeth clattering loudly. "There you are!" He said. "Are you okay?"

Christie's mouth shut and the edges began twitching into a small frown. Tears formed once again as she remembered the quarrel between her and Riku. And now, seeing Sora so worried about her, she couldn't hold them back. Tears began rolling down her face. She walked up to him, putting her head under his chin and keeping her arms against her chest. He wrapped his arms and her, comforting her as she sobbed quietly.

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Christie hugged her knees tightly. She shuddered as the thunder rolled.

"You okay?" Sora asked. Christie looked at him shyly and nodded. He handed her a big mug of hot chocolate and sat down beside her, tugging the blankets closer to her neck. Lightning flashed, and he watched her close her eyes. She flinched as the thunder rolled lowder than before.

"Are you afraid of lightning storms?" He asked.

She looked up at him. She lowered her eyes and shame crossed her face. "No, I love lightning ... but thunder always frightens me when I'm alone."

Sora took Christie's mug away from her and set in on the ground, then gently opened the blankets and scooted closer to her. He wrapped his arms around her and took the edges of the blanket from her hands. He brought her closer and whispered, "You're never alone."

Christie's mind went blank. She had no clue what was going on. The lightning flashed, and she knew at that moment that she was safe. Sora would keep her safe. She wouldn't be lonely with him. Christie rested her head on Sora's shoulder, smiling.

And the thunder rolled.

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_**Well, how's that? In all honesty I actually forgot about this - I'm getting wrapped up in school, again! DX**_

_**I think this is becoming more drama than humour, ne?**_

_**REVIEW!**_


	10. Chapter 7 pt I

_**Last chapter! Gasp! Let's make it aaaall goodies! XD**_

_**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

_Last time on KVH ..._

She held out two peices of firewood to him. When he looked up, she gave a comforting smile. "I want to help," she said.

Sora smiled shyly and took the two peices of wood. "Thank you."

Christie nodded, still smiling. As she returned her attention to the wood, she couldn't shake the feeling that Riku was glaring at her.

---

"You know I'm so angry I could topple this boat over and leave you to drown right now." He muttered.

Christie looked at him. "I can swim just as well as you." She said. She returned her gaze out to the horizon. As she looked at the black clouds looming in the distance, she could've sworn she saw Riku stick his tongue out at her.

---

Christie spun around to yell at him, but instead of seeing his face, she saw his chest instead. She looked up at him and met with his cold blue eyes. He quickly wrapped his arms around her, pushing her face into his chest. As she listened to his heartbeat, she could feel her anger softening and tears springing to her eyes. _No, no, no! I'm not weak!_ She shouted to herself, _Stupid Riku! Stupid, rotten Riku! You're making me weak!_ Her anger was boiling again. She tried to push away, but he held on tighter. Then she noticed how they were standing. An invisible, mischevious smile spread it's way across her mind. Quickly and sharply, she lifted her knee ...

... and promptly kneed him in the crotch.

---

Christie's mouth shut and the edges began twitching into a small frown. Tears formed once again as she remembered the quarrel between her and Riku. And now, seeing Sora so worried about her, she couldn't hold them back. Tears began rolling down her face. She walked up to him, putting her head under his chin and keeping her arms against her chest. He wrapped his arms and her, comforting her as she sobbed quietly.

---

Christie's mind went blank. She had no clue what was going on. The lightning flashed, and she knew at that moment that she was safe. Sora would keep her safe. She wouldn't be lonely with him. Christie rested her head on Sora's shoulder, smiling.

And the thunder rolled.

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Riku, Sora and Christie all sat in a boat. The waves were high and the wind strong. Sora looked blankly out at the sea, and Christie couldn't see Riku's eyes as he rowed along.

"Riku, turn around," Christie whispered.

Riku shook his head slowly. He stopped rowing and walked over to Sora. Riku picked up his friend as if he was a feather and threw him overboard. Sora flew through the air, his expression still blank. As soon as the brunet hit the water, he smashed into a thousand peices ...

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Christie sat up suddenly. Her heart was pounding feircly in her chest. She jumped when she heard the thunder. The blonde stood up and walked over to Sora's bed and watched him sleep. They had decided to start sleeping in the same room again earlier that night. Christie looked out the window at the rain as lightning flashed again.

_No, don't Christie. You can sleep, _she kept telling herself. The thunder rumbled the old house, and a scared voice creeped into her head. _No you can't. You'll just have that nightmare again. He said you'd never be alone, so he probably won't mind._

Christie trusted that voice more.

She crawled under the covers and rested her head on Sora's extra pillow and closed her eyes. It wasn't long before Sora moved closer and put his arm over her.

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"Mm ... " Grey light shone into the room and Christie's eyes shut tighter as she buried her face into her pillow. _Strange ... _she thought _... I don't remember my pillow being this ... hard._ She shifted a bit, trying to figure out what was wrong ... it seemed familiar ... then she remembered where she was and her eyes shot open. A blush and a smirk found it's way across her face as she realised that she was no longer laying on her pillow. Her head had found it's way onto Sora's chest during the night.

She closed her eyes again, but the smirk wouldn't go away. Especially since Sora was now rubbing her back gently, making her blush worse.

"'Morning," Sora muttered sleepily. She knew he was grinning.

"G'morning," she greeted back. She looked out the window and frowned. "It's still raining ... "

Sora wrapped his other arm around Christie and put his forhead against her temple. "Yeah, these storms can last for days."

Christie closed her eyes again. "Oh, dang ... "

There was silence for a few minutes before Christie spoke. "Hey, what's that?" She asked.

"What's what?"

"That noise," Christie answered, looking around. Her gaze settled itself on the door. "It sounds like someone is running around downstairs."

Sora fell quiet. The two of them listened. Then the footsteps began stomping upstairs. "Oh, no," Sora said. Christie knew exactly what he was thinking, and who he knew it was.

They both sat up as the door slammed open. Riku stood there, raging mad. His eyes flashed between Sora and Christie. "I'm going to kill you!" He screamed at Sora.

"No, Riku, wait - " Christie tried to explain, but was hushed by Sora's hand on her waist. She turned to see Sora glaring venomously at Riku. "Sora?" She whispered.

"Get your hands off her, Sora!" Riku yelled.

"I'm not going to let you hurt her anymore, Riku!" Sora yelled back.

Christie edged away. "Guys, stop it," she muttered.

Sora looked at her, worried, but Riku yelled, "No! Sora, you and I are going to finish this! Once and for all!"

Sora stared at Riku. "What ... ?"

"No more childish races! We're going to fight!" He said angrily, pointing out the window to the sea.

"Riku, please don't tell me you don't mean ... " Christie said, then hushed to a whisper, " ... a fight ... to the death ... ?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I mean - and the only way I'm calling it off is if you come with me." There was a crazed look in Riku's eyes that struck fear into Christie's heart.

"Riku, I'll go with you, just please don't hurt Sora - "

"- Christie, I'll fight him." Christie's head whipped around to look at Sora. He leaned in and gave her a reassuring, caring smile, whispering. "I'm not letting him hurt you anymore."

Tears welled up in Christie's eyes as she watched him stand up and walk over to Riku - his best friend that was forcing him to fight to the death. Never in her wildest dreams would she ever think this would happen to her - nor would she ever wish it.

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Christie stared nervously at her knees as the small rowboat teetered threateningly in the high waters and rain. Her nightmare was coming true. She looked up at Sora to see that blank expression as he looked out to the sea. She now knows why he had that expression in her dream - he and Riku were going to fight. She looked over at Riku. She could see his eyes, but wished she couldn't. He was staring at her, and a wide smirk broke across his face.

Christie swallowed. "Please turn around, Riku." She tried to sound demanding, but her voice came out in a whisper.

Riku laughed and shook his head. "No," he said, bringing the oars in and setting them down. "This is where we'll fight." He told Sora.

Sora swallowed as Riku walked over to him. "Stand up, Sora," the older boy demanded. Sora's face paled and Christie saw his knees shake. "_Stand up!_" Riku screamed, taking Sora's collar and lifting him up.

"Riku!" Christie yelled. Riku looked at her, alarmed. Then he looked back at Sora and laughed.

"Okay, okay, I know," he muttered, grinning. He let Sora fall to the floor of the boat.

Sora took a deep breath and stood up. Riku swung around and hit Sora in the shoulder. Sora stumbled back and landed at Christie's feet. "I'm so sorry," she whispered sympathetically into his ear. He nodded and stood back up. Riku cracked his knuckles and swung again. Sora managed to dodge the attack, and thrusted his palm into Riku's chest. Riku swaggered back with the wind knocked out of him. He regained his composure quickly and lunged at Sora with a warcry. Sora stepped back quickly, but he now was at the edge of the boat. Christie's hands flew up to her mouth as she watched Riku grab Sora's shoulders. The silver-haired boy began pushing Sora back, and Sora grabbed Riku's shoulders and tried pushing him back.

Riku grinned at Sora's worried face. "_Geez_, you're pathetic!" Riku mocked. He quickly let go of one of Sora's shoulders and, in a flash, punched him in the face.

Christie screamed as Riku let Sora, who was now knocked out, fall into the water. She scrambled to the edge of the boat and reached out. "Sora!" She cried.

Riku grabbed her wrist and pulled her against him. "He's not going to intrude anymore." He said, soothingly.

Christie was so scared. She pulled back her fist and punch Riku in the cheek. He fell backwards. "Snap out of it!" She screamed, watching him touch his face gingerly. "He's your best friend!" She called out before jumping into the icey-cold water.

She swam as fast as she could to Sora. He was out of sight, but a trail of blood led her to him. When she found him, she thanked God, and any other god that might be here, that there was a small sand dune exactly underneath the boat. She picked Sora up and began swimming back. She didn't want to go back to Riku, but it was Sora's only chance at survival.

And then a muscle pulled in her leg. It took everything she had not to cry out. She beared with it and kept kicking, but she was quickly getting tired. Red spots were forming in front of her eyes and her mind was clouding over. She broke the surface with a cry of pain. She finding it so difficult to keep conciousness.

"Hey!"

She turned around to see Riku reaching out. "I'm so sorry for how I've been acting these past few days, and I can understand if you don't want to forgive me, but please trust me and hand Sora over!" Christie was blinking and breathing hard. Unfortunatly, she was getting more water than air. "Please!" Riku begged.

_I have to trust him,_ she thought, handing Sora over. It was getting difficult to stay above surface. Riku dragged Sora into the boat then held his hand out to Christie. She only had time to glance at him before her arms and legs stopped moving. She heard him cry out her name as she fell back into the water.

She was falling ... falling ... she didn't remember the water being this deep when she dove down to get Sora. If she wasn't already underwater, she'd probably be crying. Not because she was going to die, but because she hadn't talked to her family and friends before dying ... because the last thing she'd ever see was two best friends fighting for her.

She saw two angels coming for her. She tried to smile at them, but she found herself too weak. So she let them come. They reached out and grabbed her arms. _Their hands are so warm ... and so ... so ... familiar ..._ she thought. She looked at one and knew she knew him, and saw him very recently, but she couldn't place it. _Oh,_ she said to herself, a very faint smile appearing on her lips, _it's Sora. I'm sorry, Sora - I let you die._ She looked over to the other one, and was instantly confused. _What's Riku doing here? He shouldn't be dead._

They began swimming back up to the surface. Riku and Sora both gasped for breath. Riku quickly jumped into the boat a pulled Christie in, then Sora. Riku flipped her onto her stomach and thumped her back. "C'mon, Christie, breathe, breathe," he said.

Christie coughed up water and began gasping for breath - which she found difficult when the two boys had bearhugged her.

"Thank you so much!" Sora said, smiling.

"You saved us both!" Riku said, grinning and crying.

They let go of her and she coughed some more and smiled shyly at them. "No, not really," she muttered, trying to sound humble. "But your welcome, anyway."

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"Christie, Kairi, are you two ready yet?" Riku called into the door of the washroom.

"Nuh-uh, not yet!" Kairi called back.

"Be patient!" Christie said, giggling.

Riku and Sora looked at each other, each of them raising one eyebrow. "Hurry up!" Sora whined.

"Okay, okay, we're coming out now," Kairi said.

Both boys stood side-by-side, each in their own tuxedos. Looking at them now, the only guess that they had been fighting was they each had a black eye. The door opened a crack and Christie's head appeared around it. "Go downstairs," she said, grinning.

"What? Why?" Riku asked.

Kairi's head appeared. "Just do it!"

Sora looked at Riku and shrugged. "Women," Riku muttered as they both trodded down the stairs.

Sora smirked. "I can't wait to see what Kairi is wearing - and what Christie is wearing too." He swallowed as he noticed Riku staring at him through the corner of his eye. "But mostly Kairi," he corrected quickly.

Riku laughed. "Don't worry, I don't think Christie and I'll be dating anymore."

There was a small cough behind the two boys and they each turned around. "I take that back," Riku said, "I take that so far back."

Both girls wore the same style of poofy ball-gowns that resembled Belle's, from _Beauty and the Beast_. Christie's was dark blue with a lavender trim, while Kairi's was white with a pink trim. In Christie's hair was some small, violet flowers, and Kairi's hair was decorated with a pink and white carnation.

Christie blushed and looked at her hands, playing with her small, gold bracelet as Kairi spoke. "Do you like it?" The red-head asked.

"Yes," both boys said simutaneously.

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"I heard what you told Sora, Riku," Christie said quietly. "And I don't think we should date anymore, either."

The two of them walked along the bridge. Sora and Kairi were far ahead, chatting loudly. Riku looked at Christie sadly. "Why?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"Because I'm not from here. I came here suddenly, I can leave suddenly, too."

Riku nodded. "You're right." He held out his elbow to her. "But we can still be friends, right?"

Christie smiled and wrapped her hand around his arm. "Of course."

When the couple reached the beach, everyone turned to stare at them.

"Nice eye, Riku!" Someone called from the back. "Christie slugged you up badly, ya?"

The crowd errupted in laughter and Riku let out a few nervous laughs. "I'm going to go get some punch - err ... something to drink." He said, sidestepping away.

Christie giggled slightly, when Selphie skipped up to her. "So!" She started. "What're you gonna sing for us tonight?"

The blonde stared at the other girl blankly. "What? Sing?"

A _duh!_ expression crossed Selphie's face. "Of course! Sora said you were going to do.

Christie's mouth opened and closed as if she had something to say but the words wouldn't come out. She began to inch away. "I ... have to ... uhm ... go ... uhh ... stuff." She muttered, walking away very quickly.

She pushed her way through the crowd - ignoring anyone who happened to shout out anything with the words "sing" or "song" in it - until she reached the punch and snack table, where she found Sora, Kairi and Riku chatting. Riku looked somewhat upset.

"_Sora!_" She shouted.

He turned around, smiling at her. "Yeah?"

Christie's eye twitched. "What did you tell them?" She asked, her teeth clenched her mouth barely opening in between words.

Sora's smile stayed, but a worried look spread it's way across his eyes. "I told you so," Riku muttered, glaring at the back of Sora's head.

"U-uh ... ah ... that ... that you were going to sing for us tonight ... ?" He stuttered.

Christie's eye twitched again and her jaw dropped. "I'm going to _keeeel yew._" She hissed.

Sora's smile disappeared and he took a small step backwards. He was saved when Christie's attention was distracted by a shout of "Grandfather Roujin!" from the front of the crowd. The rest of the party began to mutter as they all headed for the docks.

"Grandfather Roujin?" She asked Riku, who was smiling.

"Yes, he's the only person on the Destiny Islands ever to venture out into the world!" Riku replied. He took her by the wrist and dragged her to the docks, closely followed by Sora and Kairi.

"Grandfather Roujin!" Sora called out as he pushed his way to the front. He ran out to the dock to greet the very small rowboat. Christie squinted, but could only see a large pile of dirty rags.

She stared as the rags began to move and shift. There was a small cough as the boat stopped, and the rags got taller. Sora held his arms out and gently lifted the pile onto the dock. The rags turned around to show the face of an old man peeking through them. He lifted his hand up to his mouth and cough again. There was still some muttering as Sora followed Grandfather Roujin as he walked up to Riku and Kairi. Smiling, he hugged them both, then turned his attention to Christie. He pulled down his hood and smiled at her. "You must be Christie." He said.

Christie nodded as the muttering started again. "Yes, that's right. How do you know?"

Grandfather Roujin smiled. "I learned it, kodomo. I also happen to learn you're quite good at singing." A sly grin spread across his face.

Christie could hear some of the people behind her agree and she blushed and shook her head wildly. "No ... !" She whined. "No, no, no!"

"I think you should, kodomo." Grandfather Roujin said. He leaned in and whispered, "it just might help you get home." The blood drained from Christie's face as Roujin held out a cloth bag to her. "Just in case you go anywhere tonight." He said, winking.

Roujin walked away and Christie looked into the bag. It was all her clothes. Her mind was filling up with a thousand questions. "Grandfather Roujin?" She heard Sora say. She walked through the crowd, who politly moved out of the way for her, and stood in between Sora and Riku.

"Yes, Sora?" Roujin replied, taking a sip of punch.

"Why are you back so soon? I mean, we're happy to see you back, but we weren't expecting you for another year." Sora asked.

The old man smiled. "Well, you see, I was on my way to the island of Mordenz - " he paused, watching everybody sit down (except Christie, who blushed and sat down quickly after everyone else did), " - when I saw this shimmering light. At first, I thought nothing of it. So I continued, and as soon as I reached Mordenz, their elder, Drendes - whom I'm fairly good friends with - met me at the port. I asked him if he saw the shimmering light fly across the sky. 'Yes', he said, 'it was a girl, trapped in this world from a world like no other.'

'How do you know this?' I asked. 'I saw it many, many nights ago.' The elder replied. 'A voice like no other, she has - deep like an eagle, strange like a raven, beautiful like a dove. Old Roujin, you must get back to your Destiny Islands and ask her to sing one thousand words at the place most beautiful, where the moon hits itself. That is the only way she will get back to her world.'

'How will I know her?' I asked. 'A young child, she is. When you get back to your island, she will be standing beside the one you call Riku. She goes by Christie. Now hurry - things will only come to pass if you leave now.' So I jumped back into my rowboat and headed back. When I got here, Drendes was right." Roujin looked at Christie. "I am most interested in hearing your voice of three birds."

Christie blushed. "I'm more interested in knowing where the 'place most beautiful' is. I don't know where the moon would hit its -" she cut herself off. In the distance, she noticed the island with the mountain. " ... self." She finished. She looked at Riku. "I have to sing in the crystal cave." She said to him.

He stood up. "Well, then, come on - let's go!" He said, smiling.

Christie, Sora and Kairi stood up as well. "But Riku," Christie muttered. "Drendes said I have to sing a song with a thousand words - I don't know a song like that!"

"Maybe you have to sing more than one song?" Kairi asked.

Roujin walked up to them. "Drendes has a funny way of riddling. He could have meant precisly that."

"C'mon you guys," Sora said, smiling. "We can figure it out once we get there."

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**_Aw, don't you guys just hate me? XD _**

_**Sorry, but this chapter was getting way too long! We'll figure out what Drendes means in part 2! (Feel free to guess, but I won't tell you if you're right! NYAH-HA-HA!)**_

_**REVIEW!**_


	11. Chapter 7 pt II

_**Wow, I'm lazy.**_

_**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

_Last time on KVH ..._

Riku shook his head slowly. He stopped rowing and walked over to Sora. Riku picked up his friend as if he was a feather and threw him overboard. Sora flew through the air, his expression still blank. As soon as the brunet hit the water, he smashed into a thousand peices ...

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They both sat up as the door slammed open. Riku stood there, raging mad. His eyes flashed between Sora and Christie. "I'm going to kill you!" He screamed at Sora.

"No, Riku, wait - " Christie tried to explain, but was hushed by Sora's hand on her waist. She turned to see Sora glaring venomously at Riku. "Sora?" She whispered.

"Get your hands off her, Sora!" Riku yelled.

"I'm not going to let you hurt her anymore, Riku!" Sora yelled back.

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Christie screamed as Riku let Sora, who was now knocked out, fall into the water. She scrambled to the edge of the boat and reached out. "Sora!!" She cried.

Riku grabbed her wrist and pulled her against him. "He's not going to intrude anymore." He said, soothingly.

Christie was so scared. She pulled back her fist and punched Riku in the cheek. He fell backwards. "Snap out of it!" She screamed, watching him touch his face gingerly. "He's your best friend!" She called out before jumping into the icey-cold water.

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Both girls wore the same style of poofy ball-gowns that resembled Belle's, from _Beauty and the Beast_. Christie's was dark blue with a lavender trim, while Kairi's was white with a pink trim. In Christie's hair was some small, violet flowers, and Kairi's hair was decorated with a pink and white carnation.

Christie blushed and looked at her hands, playing with her small, gold bracelet as Kairi spoke. "Do you like it?" The red-head asked.

"Yes," both boys said simutaneously.

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Christie blushed. "I'm more interested in knowing where the 'place most beautiful' is. I don't know where the moon would hit its -" she cut herself off. In the distance, she noticed the island with the mountain. " ... self." She finished. She looked at Riku. "I have to sing in the crystal cave." She said to him.

He stood up. "Well, then, come on - let's go!" He said, smiling.

Christie, Sora and Kairi stood up as well. "But, Riku," Christie muttered. "Drendes said I have to sing a song with a thousand words - I don't know a song like that!"

"Maybe you have to sing more than one song?" Kairi asked.

Roujin walked up to them. "Drendes has a funny way of riddling. He could have meant precisly that."

"C'mon you guys," Sora said, smiling. "We can figure it out once we get there."

_**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

Christie watched as Sora and Riku helped Kairi out of the boat, and stood when they held their hands out to her. She carefully walked over and gingerly held the boys' hands as she hopped out. The crowd that had gathered on the small island was eerily quiet as they watched the blonde walked across the beach, closely followed by Riku, Sora, Kairi and Roujin.

"The cave isn't that big," she said quietly to the crowd. "I'll go alone."

Riku reached out suddenly and grabbed Christie's wrist. "No - I'm going with you."

Kairi and Sora stepped forward. "Us, too. No way are we going to let our newest best friend leave without us hearing her sing one last time," Kairi said.

Christie's eyes watered as she looked at the three in front of her. "Th-thank you, guys - that means a lot to me," she squeaked out, smiling.

Her friends smiled back as Roujin spoke. "I should probably tag along as well - you never know when my magic may come in handy."

Sora looked at the old man, concerned. "No, Grandfather Roujin, it's too dangerous for you to climb the mountain."

Roujin chuckled under his breath. "My good boy! You think that after 45 years of visiting the islands on this world I haven't even learned the simple task of flight?" He asked, grinning. The man snapped his dirty fingers and sparks began to fly from their tips. Within a few seconds, his feet lifted from the ground. "I'll see you three kids at the top!" He called out behind him as he flew up to the crystal cave.

"Talk about handy," Riku said, scratching the side of his head, a look of befuddlement on his face.

"N-no fair ... !" Christie whined.

Sora looked around. "Where'd Kairi go?" he asked.

"'C'mon, you three!" Kairi shouted. The three looked up the side of the mountain where they saw the young redhead had already climbed nearly halfway. "Don't keep an old man waiting!"

"Race you!" Riku said, taking off. Sora followed him, leaving Christie in the dust, surprised.

"You guys are such haters!" She called after them, walking to the foot of the mountain where the two boys had already begun scaling to the cave. She let out, "Hmph. Men." under her breath as she glared at the two.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"'Bout time you got here," Riku said coolly as Christie reached the ledge.

"Aw, shaddap," she said, glaring once again at the boys. "Help me up."

Riku grinned as he and Sora gently lifted the blonde to her feet.

"Really sorry about that," Sora pardoned politly, smiling, "We got a little carried away."

Christie glanced from Sora to Riku and sighed. "Yeah, I forgive you both." She smiled and poked them lightly. "I can't stay angry at either of you."

They followed her into the cave. Christie's heart was heavy, and they could see it in her face. Her lips formed a straight line, and her face was terribly flushed. Riku reached and gently touched her hand, softly whispering, "It's okay - we're here."

Christie kept her mouth shut, but nodded. She looked up at Grandfather Roujin, then at Kairi, then up to where the moon shone in through the ceiling. She sighed again, and looked back at Roujin. "Now what?"

"Now we wait until the moon 'hits itself'," the old man replied in his husky voice. "Until then, I suppose we'll try to figure out Drendes' riddle."

"Well, we'd better make it fast," Riku said seriously, "There's only a few minutes until the moon comes over the mountain - half and hour, tops."

Christie gulped and looked around. Roujin stood with his eyes closed, deep in thought. Kairi stood next to him, biting her lip and staring off to the side. Sora leaned against the wall, staring intently at his shoes. Then to Riku - he stood with his arms folded and a pained expression across his eyes.

Christie looked at the ground. She knew exactly what he was thinking. The blonde looked back at him and, very gently, reached out and touched his arm. "It's okay - I'm here." She whispered softly, just as he had done.

He jumped and looked at her. His eyes filled with tears as he whispered back, "Yes - but not for long."

Christie frowned and walked up to the boy, wrapping her arms around him tightly. She smiled through her own tears as he hugged her back. "Save your tears, 'cuz I'll come back." She said, closing her eyes and burying her face into his chest.

_**Old Roujin, you must get back to your Destiny Islands and ask her to sing one thousand words at the place most beautiful, where the moon hits itself.**_

_**... ask her to sing one thousand words at the place most beautiful ...**_

_**... ask her to sing one thousand words ...**_

_**... one thousand words ...**_

"Save your tears, 'cuz I'll come back ... " Christie whispered again.

Suddenly, the girl gasped and pushed Riku away. "Save your tears, 'cuz I'll come back!!" She yelled very suddenly.

Riku looked at her, shocked. "Yeah - I heard you the first and second time. No need to shout."

Christie smiled. "No, no! It's a line in a song!" She said, laughing. "A song called '1000 Words'!"

"Well, that makes sense," Kairi said. "It's a whole lot easier than singing a song with a thousand words."

"Do you think that that's what Drendes meant? To sing that song?" Sora asked.

"Most likely. I wouldn't doubt it if he knew songs from all the worlds." Roujin said, nodding.

"Look," Riku said, "the moon's coming." He looked at Christie and whispered, "Are you ready?"

A lump formed in Christie's throat - all she could manage was a nod.

The group waited until the moon began casting it's light onto the gems, the light once again reverberating and beating off the walls. Roujin, Riku, Sora, and Kairi stepped back to the entranceway. Christie was now the only one who was standing in the gems' lights. She cleared her throat, trying hard not to cry, and began to sing;

"_I know that you're hiding things,_

_using gentle words to shelter me._

_Your words were like a dream,_

_but dreams could never fool me ..._

_Not that easily._"

The gems' moonlight, through some magic, began to grow brighter.

"_I acted so distant then,_

_didn't say good-bye before you left,_

_but I was listening._

_You fight your battles far from me ..._

_far too easily._"

Tears ran down Christie's eyes as she looked at her group. They were all crying, Roujin, Kairi and Sora smiling, Riku with a grim look on his face. The blonde gave him a sad smile.

"_'Save your tears, 'cuz I'll come back,'_

_I could hear that you whispered as you walked through that door,_

_but still I sought to hide the pain._

_When I turn back the pages,_

_shouting might have been the answer - _

_what if I cried my eyes out,_

_and begged you not to depart?_

_But now I'm not afraid to say what's in my heart._"

Christie closed her eyes and focused on putting her heart into her words. She could feel her energy pulsing around her body.

"_'Cuz a thousand words,_

_called out through the ages,_

_they'll fly to you._

_Even though I can't see,_

_I know that they're reaching you -_

_suspended on silver wings._

_Oh, a thousand words,_

_one thousand embraces,_

_will cradle you and make all your weary days_

_seem far away - they'll hold you forever._"

The echo Christie was making made some crystals from the ceiling fall. They shattered loudly, they're fragments reflecting more moonlight. Instead of fading, however, the light shimmered behind the girl, slowly growing as more crystals fell, shattered and caught the moonlight

"_Oh, a thousand words _

_have never been spoken._

_They'll fly to you,_

_they'll carry you home_

_and back into my arms,_

_suspended on silver wings._

_And a thousand words_

_called out through the ages._

_They'll cradle you,_

_and turn all of the lonely years,_

_into only days._

_They'll hold you forever!_

_Oh, a thousand ..._"

By now, the light was as large as half the cave. The crystals suddenly stopped falling, and Christie breathed out the last word:

"_... words ..._"

The tears streamed silently down the group's faces. Roujin was the first to speak; "W-well," he paused to wipe away tears, "that certainly was very ... very nice. But I think you should leave now, before the portal behind you closes, else, I fear, you may be stuck here."

Christie nodded silently. She looked at the ground, then back up to her friends. A sad smile crossed her face. "I guess this is good-bye."

Sora and Kairi ran up to the blonde and hugged her tightly, which she embraced like a lifeline.

"I hope you have a safe trip home, Christie," Kairi said when she let go.

"We're going to miss you," Sora said.

"Thank you - I'm going to miss you guys, too," Christie replied, still smiling.

The two stepped away to let Roujin say his good-bye. The old man took the girl by her wrist and bowed low. "It was a pleasure to meet you - it's a pity we don't have time to talk more about your world."

Christie gave Roujin a lopsided smile and bowed equally as low. "It was a pleasure to meet you too, but it's for the better we don't talk about my world - trust me."

The man let out a low chuckle from the bottom of his throat. "Maybe you're right, maybe you're right," he muttered, moving aside.

The four looked at Riku, who hadn't moved from his spot since Christie finished her song. Very slowly, he walked up to her. "I'm," he said, barely over a whisper, "not good with good-byes."

Christie took the boy's hands in hers and smiled up at him. "Don't say 'good-bye' - good-byes are forever." She looked at his hands, then back at his face, fighting back tears. "I'll see you later." Her voice quavered as she spoke.

Riku's bottom lip trembled, but there was no other sign that he wanted to cry. Instead of speaking, he took his hands from Christie's and reached into his pocket, pulling out a beautiful necklace made of shells - and, in the centre of five long shells that formed a star, was a large pink pearl.

"I-" Riku's voice cut off for a second, "I made this for you. These shells-" he touched the long shells gently, "-they're called Thalassa shells. They're supposed to bring good luck."

Christie's smile widened and, despite her attempts to hold them back, tears rolled down her cheeks. "Thank you, Riku - it's gorgeous." Riku smiled as she let him put the necklace on her neck.

Roujin cleared his throat. "I think it's time to go, Christie ... " he said politely.

Christie nodded again, and turned on her heels. She was just about to step into the portal, when she was pulled back. Riku wrapped his arms around her tightly and kissed her deeply. When he finally pulled away, he whispered, "I'll see you later."

Christie smiled at him. "See you." With a small kiss, she pulled away. Waving to her friends, she stepped into the portal.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sounds and images swirled around the girl.

_Christie screamed as Riku let Sora, who was now knocked out, fall into the water. She scrambled to the edge of the boat and reached out. "Sora!!" She cried._

_Riku grabbed her wrist and pulled her against him. "He's not going to intrude anymore." He said, soothingly._

_Christie was so scared. She pulled back her fist and punched Riku in the cheek. He fell backwards. "Snap out of it!" She screamed, watching him touch his face gingerly. "He's your best friend!" She called out before jumping into the icey-cold water._

_---_

_Sora took Christie's mug away from her and set in on the ground, then gently opened the blankets and scooted closer to her. He wrapped his arms around her and took the edges of the blanket from her hands. He brought her closer and whispered, "You're never alone."_

_Christie's mind went blank. She had no clue what was going on. The lightning flashed, and she knew at that moment that she was safe. Sora would keep her safe. She wouldn't be lonely with him. Christie rested her head on Sora's shoulder, smiling._

_And the thunder rolled._

_---_

_Both teens studied the picture. It showed a young girl with short hair and glasses with a very tall young man with spikey hair. _Why does he look so familiar ... ? _Christie thought. The picture next to it showed an old man in a cloak shooting the girl and the young man jumping and reaching towards her wrist. Then there was a large spiral and there were no more pictures._

_---_

_Sora put his head into his hands and rubbed his face. Christie thought he looked more like a 40-year-old than a 14-year-old. Sora sighed. "I don't know what's gotten into me ... like, I know you're not my girlfriend, but my mind still put you under the 'Heavy Protection' list." He rubbed the back of his neck and looked at Christie._

_The blonde thought for a moment. "Well ... I guess I'm going to have to get off that list, aren't I?" Sora nodded and a hint of a smile appeared at the sides of his mouth. "Okay, so, from this point on, you and I are just friends. That means we can't appear in public as much anymore, and, most importantly, I can't sleep in the same room as you. Tomorrow, we work double duty to get you and Kairi together, got it?"_

_Sora grinned and Christie smiled back at the 14-year-old she knew and had fallen in-and-out of love with. "Great," he said, standing up. He crossed the room again._

_---_

_"What does he have that I don't? I'm older, smarter, stronger and better looking!" Riku asked, following her._

_"He's nicer, sensitive, my age and knows when to quit!"_

_Riku caught up with her and walked beside her. "Come on ... You know I'm attracted to you and I know you're attracted to me." He reached out and grabbed her hand._

_"Riku, stop! What's gotten into you?" Christie demanded, stopping to face the boy and yanking her hand away._

_---_

_All this happened in a flash. Riku put his hand around Christie's waist and pulled her in. She was so close, she could feel the muscles in Riku's chest as he breathed. Riku's lips brushed against Christie's and her breath caught in her throat. She finally breathed in, causing her mouth to open. Riku took this as an advantage and pushed his lips into hers. His tongue brushed against her lower lip... around... and tickled half-way across her top lip, sending a shiver down her spine. He pulled away half an inch and whispered, "Foget that," as if it were an easy thing to do._

_---_

_Riku jumped back and lunged again. This time, Christie dodged and swung her sword around. Riku spun and blocked it. For a while, Christie would swing while Riku blocked, then Riku began trying to hit Christie while she blocked. He spun so he stood behind the girl. She held up her sword right before Riku hit it. They both stopped, breathing hard. Riku was standing so close to Christie, she could feel his heartbeat. At first, she didn't notice his hand on her stomach. When she did, her face went red._

_"Careful," Christie said, giving a sidways smirk around her shoulder, "I'm pretty sure Sora wouldn't miss a heartbeat to punch you in the mouth." The blonde took the boy's hand and pulled it off._

_---_

_"Ugh..." Christie moaned. She opened her eyes and stood. Looking around, she saw she was in a bedroom, and, judging by the posters of girls, it was a boy's bedroom. She went to an open window and saw nothing but a beach, the ocean and an oddly familiar island far off. "Wow..." she whispered, smiling. Then she noticed the two people, a boy and a girl, talking on the beach. "Th-that's..." she squeaked out, but she couldn't finish the sentence. Instead, she listened in._

_"Kairi, there's something I wanna tell you..." the boy started._

_Kairi, the girl, turned and smiled. "What is it, Sora?"_

_"Uhm," Sora rubbed his arm nervously and blushed, "...I like you, Kairi..."_

_"I like you too, Sora."_

_"Really?"_

_"Yeah, you're a great friend. It's tough not to like you!"_

Geez, she's dense,_ Christie thought, nuzzling her chin in the palm of her hand._

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Christie sat up in her own bed. Looking around, she saw that nothing had changed - and her Kingdom Hearts game was safely paused. She stood up and turned off her PS2. _It was just a dream, _she thought.

She walked over to her window and looked out, resting her elbows on the sill. She smiled and watched the sunrise in the horizon. _Nine years,_ the girl thought, tears springing to her eyes.

The blonde sniffed and walked across the hall to the bathroom to get some tissue to wipe away her tears. She unrolled some toilet paper and gently dried her face, walking to the mirror. She grinned at herself. _What an imagination you -_

Around her neck, Christie saw the necklace Riku had given her. More tears found their way down her cheeks as she gently touched the pearl.

"Riku ... " the girl whispered.

_**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

_**The end?**_


End file.
